Tuesday, 31 October, 2006

The New Republic encourages Europeans to embrace unlimited freedom of speech Ã¢â¬â including Holocaust denial. Bernard-Henri Levy opposes this view, in Le Point: negation is part of the crime itself. Outlook India takes a look at beauty salons in slums. Der Merkur describes the connection between the cultural arrogance of Islam and economic breakdown. In the NRC Handelsblad, reporter Vik Franke explains how he shot back in Afghanistan. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Adam Michnik writes about differences between the Polish and Hungarian revolutions.
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Tuesday 24 October, 2006

Atlantic Monthly marvels at Hillary Clinton's talent for manipulation. In Outlook India, Arundhati Roy protests the death sentence for Mohammed Afzal. In Al Ahram, Elias Khoury interprets the Nobel Prize for Orhan Pamuk as the text's revenge against its author. Bernard-Henri Levy wants Anna Politkovskya to be Putin's pang of conscience. In Elet es Irodalom, Peter Nadas and Peter Esterhazy reflect on the Uprising of 1956. Gazeta Wyborcza reminds us that 1956 also saw a revolution in Poland. And The New York Times Magazine documents the rise of the Taliban. read more

Tuesday 17 October, 2006

In the NRC Handelsblad, Ian Buruma looks at the whining Neocons and asks: "Where is the debate?In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Neocon Norman Podhoretz says Islamic fundamentalism is the new totalitarianism. In Asharq Al-Awsat, historian Abdesselam Cheddadi demands that the Arab world re-read their Ibn Khaldun. The Spectator sees South Africa in grave difficulties. L'Express introduces a new philosophy which is an old one. The New Yorker sings the praises of the German universities of the 19th century. Die Weltwoche calls the West's reaction to North Korea resolutely perplexed. And The New York Times Magazine portrays Wang Hui, leader of China's New Left. read more

Tuesday 10 October, 2006

Vanity Fair investigates the Haditha massacre. Asharq Al-Awsat is amazed thatintellectual Muslim women are defining the image of Islam in America. Outlook India could care less about fiction's camouflage. Der Spiegel knows what Putin wants to buy in Germany. In Semana, Hector Abad Faciolince calls American suburbs a forecourt to hell. DU is dedicated to Rebecca Horn. And Lorenzo de Medici explains in Die Weltwoche why it's okay for his family to die out. read more

Wednesday 4 October, 2006

Literaturen pays tribute to Joachim Fest's father. The New York Review of Books knows something that's hotter than GoogleBooks: Espresso Printing! Outlook India is concerned about Pervez Musharraf. The TLS thinks it knows why Günter Grass was so quiet for so long about his SS membership. Lettre prints the best literary reportage in the world. In Gazeta Wyborcza, Salman Rushdie pays respect to artists in Islamic countries. And Express is embarrassed to be French. read more

Tuesday 26 September, 2006

In Outlook India, Vikram Seth asks if bisexuality is a crime. In Nepszabadsag, Peter Esterhazy and Peter Nadas defend their Prime Minister Gyurcsany - even if he did lie. In the New York Review of Books, Timothy Garton Ash reflects on Islam in Europe. In the Nouvel Obs, Julian Barnes writes "Madame Bovary" anew. Al Ahram grumbles about the Pope's speech in Regensburg and Le Point grumbles about intellectual terrorism. read more

Tuesday 19 September, 2006

Outlook India remembers the 65,000 Indian soldiers who died in WWI. Die Weltwoche describes the new Internet boom as a sort of giant sing-along. In the London Review of Books, Tony Judt searches for the American liberals and finds only a service class. Il Foglio portrays the Social Democrat Euro MP Lilli Gruber. Elet es Irodalom visits the garden of Budapest's Dohany Synagogue, a memorial to Hungarian embarrassment. The TLS wades its way through 2000 years ofmedical misadventure. In Le Figaro, philosopher Philippe Raynaud analyses France's extreme Left. The New York Times hails in the age of satire. read more

Tuesday 12 September, 2006

In Guardian, Martin Amis sees an era of horror approaching. The Weltwoche visits Chechnyan Prime Minister and gangster Ramsan Kadyrov. Folio takes a close look at the booming business at private military companies. Al Ahram sees itself stuck between American imperialists and Islamic fundamentalists. Il Foglio admires Rome's mayor. Merkur inspects Germany's new class society. Radar hears tango as a beat from the underground. Le Monde exposes the aftermath of Katrina as the biggest scam of all time. read more

Tuesday 5 September, 2006

The New Yorker portrays "Junior", a true problem child and America's most valuable Al Qaeda informant. In The Spectator, Alan Dershowitz calls for a liberal initiative against terror. Outlook India celebrates the new Ghandi youth, who organise motorcycle rallies for peace with Pakistan. In Literaturen, Ilija Trojanow vaunts the Bombaywalla's talent for the poisonous declaration of love. Polityka praises Olga Tokarczuk's new book about the Sumarian goddess Inanna. The Nouvel Obs describes the precarious life of France's writing class. And The New York Times warns against the unobtrusive American. read more

Tuesday 22 August, 2006

The weekly paper Wprost has revealed that Zbigniew Herbert worked for the Polish secret service, and the Gazeta Wyborcza is not amused. The New Yorker takes a look at Daniel Libeskind's Denver Art Museum. In Outlook India, Taslima Nasrin gives three cheers for Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Heti Vilaggazdasag doesn't want to be lectured to by either Günter Grass or Istvan Szabo. And De Groene Amsterdammer explains why you can't access the website of the University of Virginia from Iran. read more

Wednesday, 16 August, 2006

The Gazeta Wyborcza fears that nationalism is threatening European unity. In the Spiegel, writer Irene Dische suspects Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder will always find an object for his hatred. In The New Yorker, Seymour Hersh looks for the real reasons behind America's support for Israel's tactics in Lebanon. In Heti Valasz, historian Andreas Oplatka wonders whether the leader of Hungary's 1956 revolution, Imre Nagy, was a communist through and through. Il Foglio details the current spy intrigues between China and Taiwan. In The Spectator, Boris Johnson insists he's a British fish. read more

Tuesday 8 August, 2006

For Walrus, Lisa Moore travels from Newfoundland to Tasmania. In Outlook India, Asiya Andrabi takes delight in sketching out the approaching Islamic world domination. The Spectator holdsRussia responsible for Israel's existence. The Gazeta Wyborcza introduces Poland's lastest export hit: priests. Die Weltwoche experiments with guinea pig testicles. In The Believer, Steven Soderbergh mulls over the interplay of sex and politics. And in Elet es Irodalom, Laszlo Vegel explains the misunderstandings between Eastern and Western intellectuals in the Handke debate. read more

Tuesday 1 August, 2006

In Elet es Irodalom, Imre Kertesz explains why criticism of Israel is often just a smokescreen for the new Euro-anti-Semitism. In the London Review of Books, Elias Khoury suggests Israelis want to destroy Lebanon as revenge. The Spectator recalls how the British government helped put General Franco into the saddle. Merkur honours two dissidents of German historiography: Götz Aly and Gerd Koenen. In DieWeltwoche, Jürg Ramspeck remembers the good old days when journalists still had personality. In Al Ahram, Al-Jazeera's Washington bureau chief fumes over western "Mideast experts." And Esprit mourns the demise of Serge July's "total newspaper." read more

Tuesday 25 July, 2006

The New Yorker picks the Wikipedians to pieces. In Al Ahram, the chief editor of the Palestine Chronicle calls for citizen journalism. Le Point discovers a network of Black French citizens. In Gazeta Wyborcza, writer Michal Witkowski says feminine men and masculine women are responsible for the tedium of Western literature. In Nepszabadsag, writer Eszter Babarczy describes the disillusionment of young Hungarians after the fall of communism. The Spectator prophesies that the Lebanese will soon be sick and tired of Hizbullah. And the Nouvel Obs celebrates France's new young chefs. read more